This relates generally to imaging systems and, more particularly, to imaging systems that use arithmetic memory to implement horizontal binning.
Image sensors are commonly used in electronic devices such as cellular telephones, cameras, and computers to capture images. In a typical arrangement, an electronic device is provided with an array of image pixels arranged in pixel rows and pixel columns. Circuitry is commonly coupled to each pixel column for reading out image signals from the image pixels.
In a conventional arrangement, each pixel column is connected to a corresponding arithmetic memory block. The arithmetic memory block in each column is used to receive signals from the image pixels in that pixel column and can be used to implement correlated double sampling (CDS) and also vertical binning by combining the values of image pixels in different rows. The arithmetic memory blocks in this conventional arrangement can only conduct vertical binning but cannot conduct horizontal binning (i.e., the arithmetic memory blocks cannot be used to combine the image pixel values from different columns).
It would therefore be desirable to provide improved imaging systems having arithmetic memory with horizontal binning capabilities.